Wife of a Spy
Watch Now

Available virtual cinemas and theaters near zip code 20149

View More Screenings

Wife of a Spy

Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Year: 2021
Country: Japan
Language: English and Japanese with English subtitles

Master filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure, Tokyo Sonata) won the Silver Lion (Best Director) at the Venice Film Festival for this riveting, gorgeously crafted, old-school Hitchockian thriller shot in stunning 8K. The year is 1940 in Kobe, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. Local merchant and amateur filmmaker Yusaku (Issey Takahashi, Kill Bill) senses that things are headed in an unsettling direction. Following a trip to Manchuria, he becomes determined to bring to light the things he witnessed there, and secretly filmed. Meanwhile, his wife Satoko (Japan Society’s 2021 Honoree Yû Aoi) receives a visit from her childhood friend, now a military policeman. He warns her about Yusaku’s seditious ways and reveals that a woman her husband brought back from his trip has died. Satoko confronts Yusaku, but when she discovers his true intentions, she is torn between loyalty to her husband, the life they have built, and the country they call home.

Reviews

“Critic’s Pick! Thrum[s] with unusual intensity… Wife of a Spy is something like linear narrative perfection, with every scene perfectly calibrated.”


"Kiyoshi Kurosawa's best movie in years… Another unexpected pivot from a filmmaker who’s never liked putting one foot in front of the other."


“A period drama with distinct Hitchcockian overtones... in the vintage of Suspicion and Notorious.”


“An absorbing, exotic, well-paced thriller.”


“A suspenseful homefront scenario worthy of John le Carré’s storied blend of tradecraft, history and insight into the ramifications of duplicity… with elements of a Hitchcock-style swirl of marital intrigue, entrapment, and escape.”


“An old-fashioned drama replete with big performances and plot twists, double-cross and triple-cross.”


"One of Kurosawa's most purely enjoyable entertainments… powered by Yu Aoi’s bravura performance."


“Preserves the psychological richness of the spy drama… Aoi’s performance is a celebration of the cathartic possibilities of melodrama as she emphatically yells, cries, giggles and yearns.”


“A historical tale of duplicity and misplaced loyalty.”


“Majestic, and with just the right amount of customary foreboding Kurosawa is known for... [a] haltingly lush melodrama of wartime horrors.”


"A work of someone in masterful control of atmosphere... Kurosawa brings viewers into the ghastly secret that binds husband and wife together, one that could end their lives if discovered."


Awards
  • Winner: Silver Lion, Best Director – Venice Film Festival

Cast
Yû Aoi
Issey Takahashi
Ryota Bando
Yuri Tsunematsu
Minosuke Hyunri
Masahiro Higashide

Find a Theater Near You to Support


or
Venue City State Screening Options

a/perture cinema

Winston Salem

NC

All Saints Cinema / Tallahassee Film Society

Tallahassee

FL

Art Theatre of Long Beach

Long Beach

CA

Bozeman Film Society

Bozeman

MT

ByTowne Cinema

Ottawa

ON

Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe

Santa Fe

NM

Chelsea Theater

Chapel Hill

NC

Cinema Paradiso

Hollywood

FL

Cinematique of Daytona

Daytona Beach

FL

Cinestudio

Hartford

CT

Cleveland Cinematheque

Cleveland

OH

Consolidated Koko Marina

Honolulu

HI

Dairy Arts Center

Boulder

CO

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

Notre Dame

IN

Detroit Institute of Arts

Detroit

MI

FilmScene

Iowa City

IA

Gateway Film Center

Columbus

OH

Gene Siskel Film Center

Chicago

IL

Guild Cinema

Albuquerque

NM

Harkins Theatres Shea 14

Scottsdale

AZ

Hope College - Knickerbocker Theatre

Holland

MI

IFC Center

New York

NY

Kan-Kan Cinema

Indianapolis

IN

Laemmle Theatres

Los Angeles

CA

Lake Worth Playhouse

Lake Worth

FL

Landmark Chez Artiste Theatre

Denver

CO

Landmark E Street Cinema

Washington

D.C.

Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinema

San Francisco

CA

Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas

San Diego

CA

Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema

Frontenac

MO

Landmark Ritz Five

Philadelphia

PA

Landmark Shattuck Cinemas

Berkeley

CA

Living Room Boca

Boca Raton

FL

Lumiere Cinema

Los Angeles

CA

Magic Lantern Theatre

Spokane

WA

Mesilla Valley Film Society

Mesilla

NM

MoMA

New York

NY

Monadnock Film Festival

Keene

NH

New Plaza Cinema

New York

NY

Northwest Film Forum

Seattle

WA

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Oklahoma City

OK

Oxnard Film Society

Oxnard

CA

Railroad Square Cinema

Waterville

ME

Rehoboth Beach Film Society

Rehoboth Beach

DE

Sag Harbor Cinema

Sag Harbor

NY

San Juan International Film Festival

San Juan

Puerto Rico

Screenshot: Asia Festival

Pittsburgh

PA

Sedona International Film Festival

Sedona

AZ

Smith Rafael Film Center

San Rafael

CA

SNF Parkway Theatre

Baltimore

MD

Taos Center For The Arts

Taos

NM

The Cary Theater

Cary

NC

The Picture House

Pelham

NY

The Ryder Film Series

Bloomington

IN

Tower Theater Miami

Miami

FL

Upstate Films - Starr Cinema

Rhinebeck

NY

Zeitgeist Theatre

Arabi

LA